


Aperture

by 20BirdBoy19



Series: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? [10]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Banter, Drug reference, Drugs, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Nick's stubborn and lazy, Verbal Fight, Woo adventure, also quite a lot of physical fighting too actually, but we love him, chatting, flirting?, game typical violence, gardening?, more plot later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-11 08:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18426489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/20BirdBoy19/pseuds/20BirdBoy19
Summary: Nick and Saylor go on a quest. You don't need to have read any of the others, but it might make more sense.





	1. One

Nick stood up from his chair, stretching the rusty joints in his shoulder and lower back. He made a mental note to get those cleaned up sometime soon.  
  
He looked out the window to his left to gauge the time. Ellie had been complaining for as long as he could remember (well, not quite that long. His memory banks were pretty vast) about the lack of fresh air and sunlight in his office, but was never persistent enough to actually get him to hire whatever the wasteland had in place of an architect now.  
  
But then he began working with Saylor. The man was initially very polite and shy,however, after a month of their partnership he and Ellie decided it was the destiny and sole-purpose of their lives to get Nick to cut a window in his wall. Having to hear their constant complaints finally made him drop the ball and do it.  
  
Several small pots occupied the space on the windowsill. Nick smiled at them. He never thought the desolate emptiness of post-apocalyptic wasteland would be the push that would get him interested in gardening. Well, he didn't think he would wake up in the desolate emptiness of a post-apocalyptic wasteland at all, so he supposed he could say that about just about anything.  
  
Once they were properly watered, he sat back down in his chair. It creaked under his weight. He must've been reviewing his case for a long while if his chair had settled that much. Probably time to go out and get some air.  
  
He tapped his fingers on the desktop. "Saylor?"  
  
There was some shuffling, then a head popped down from the second floor through a hole in the ceiling. "Yeah, what's up?"  
  
"Feel like completing one of those quests filling up your pip-boy?"  
  
"Always. You tired of reading?"  
  
Nick smiled with half if his mouth. "I never am, but I think my chair is begging me to get off it and breathe in some fresh, irradiated air."  
  
Saylor brushed some hair out of his face and smiled. "Gimme a sec to get ready and we can go. I'm in pajamas."  
  
"Most likely not the most comfortable or protective thing to fight in." Nick laughed.  
  
"I'd say. They're so thin I'm freezing up here AND I'm huddled under at least four blankets."  
  
"Well," Nick sat up from his tormented chair, taking his pistol off the table."Come down when you're done, and remember to wear your pants with the tag in the back this time."  
  
Saylor's head had disappeared from the ceiling, but Nick heard his grumbling while he picked up equipment. "That was one time."

  



	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair of detectives share some banter on the way to stock up for the adventure.

Puffy white clouds cast shadows on the uneven ground. Grass and dirt underfoot rose in dusty swirls with every step the pair took, swept up in the wind. It was chilly and the air smelled brisk, though not quite cold enough to smell like fallen leaves. Saylor briefly wondered if there even were leaves that could fall anymore. He looked up to gauge the time, and saw naked trees in every direction. It was a little past noon.

The air was comfortably silent between the detectives, but Saylor was getting bored. They passed a large, lichen covered boulder. He dragged his hand across it while they journeyed, catching small plants between his fingers. 

"Nick?"

The synth looked at him. His plastic face might seem expressionless to a stranger, but Saylor could read every line in it. Nick was restless. "Yeah? What's goin' on, doll?"

"How's the gardening going?"

Nick faintly smiled, corners of his mouth raising minutely. "Pretty well. The mutfruits are almost ready to go into their own pots. The grass is looking greener and more healthy than anything out here," he kicked the yellow dirt as emphasis. "Still don't know why you're insisting I should name 'em, though; they're plants, they won't respond to their name like a dog or person would.

Saylor examined a small white bud he caught under his fingernail. "It's more about developing a connection with them. Y'know, so you care about them more and feel closer to them."

"Hm. Don't know about that for me. It is fun to watch them grow, though."

It was silent for a while longer. They crossed a small brook, grey water gurgling over the pebbles. Saylor kicked some garbage out of the mud. Nick lit a cigarette.

"We're reading toward Sanctuary first, right?" He asked, fiddling with the lighter lid. 

"Uh-huh. I gotta stock up. Life ain't as safe for people with squishy bits and organs than it is for synths. Your whole body is armor."

Nick chuckled. "Pretty damn bad armor if there's this many dents and cuts in it."

Saylor shrugged. "It has lasted two hundred years."

"I suppose you're right. It's a double sided coin; virtual immortality, heads, and too many tails to count. Like plastic skin."

"I-" Saylor grabbed Nick's hand when he jumped over a log. "Don't think plastic skin would be that bad. You look damn fine to me."

Nick was glad he couldn't blush. "It gets stuffy in the summer. And it smells like I'm in a factory all the time."

"Hm."

Soon the sound of civilization drew near, along with the quiet hum of purifiers cleaning still water. Saylor walked backwards (he knew the way from here to Sanctuary like the back of his hand after so many midnight walks) in order for Nick to hear his voice better when he spoke. "I'm gonna go get a jacket and some ballistic weave armor and ammo. See you in fifteen, okay?"

Nick flashed him a military salute. "Front and center, Cap'n."

"That's not what I..." Saylor laughed. "Meet me at the Joint in fifteen, ok? And I don't mean military time; I want to see you there at..." He glanced at his pip-boy," 1:46, not 3:00."

Nick nodded, smiling. "Meet you then, handsome."

Saylor blushed and looked at him sharply. "Wh-"

"Repaying you back for today when you called me, and I quote, "damn fine."" Nick explained simply.

Saylor exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. His face lost the heat and tinge of shock. "The Joint, 1:46."

"The Joint, 1:46," Nick repeated. "Now go get ready, I'm anxious for some adventure already."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey buds! The Joint I refer to here is what I named a certain structure I made in Sanctuary. Please comment! If you think you don't know what to say, tell me a bit about your fallout charecter and/or settlements. Happy reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys sorry for the long wait. I've had this idea in my mind for so long but I'm real lazy. Please comment! If you don't know what to say, tell me about your pets! I love wholesome pet content!! Have a great day, good luck with school/work!! :)


End file.
